Land Tenure Security Finds Its Place in COP30 Agenda

BELÉM, Brazil — Land tenure security, long considered a technical or development niche, is emerging as a cross-cutting theme at this year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP30, to be held in Belém, Brazil, in November.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and senior officials mark Brazil’s selection as host of COP30 in Belém, confirmed at COP27 in Egypt in 2022. The Amazonian venue was chosen to highlight the urgency of protecting tropical forests and advancing climate justice, underscoring Brazil’s central role in global climate diplomacy. (Photo: Ministry of Environment of Brazil)

Although not named as a stand-alone negotiation track, land rights have been woven into nearly every pillar of the summit’s “Action Agenda,” reflecting their growing importance in global efforts to confront climate change.

Brazil’s presidency has outlined six priority areas for the meeting: forests and biodiversity, agriculture and food systems, cities and resilience, climate finance, social development, and multilevel diplomacy. In each of these domains, tenure security plays a practical, if sometimes understated, role.

Forests and Biodiversity

Forests are expected to be at the center of COP30, particularly given the Amazonian setting. The proposed Tropical Forests Forever Facility, a performance-based fund, highlights how climate finance depends on the people who actually live in and manage forested areas.

“Without secure land rights, communities cannot invest in sustainable forest management, and investors cannot trust that conservation gains will last,” said a senior negotiator preparing for Belém. At least 20 percent of the facility is earmarked for Indigenous Peoples and local communities, reflecting a recognition that protecting forests requires protecting tenure.

Agriculture and Food Systems

Tenure security is equally vital in transforming agriculture. Smallholder farmers, particularly in Latin America, Africa, and Asia, face enormous risks from shifting rainfall, soil degradation, and extreme heat. But the adoption of climate-smart practices often hinges on whether farmers have confidence that they will reap the rewards of their investments.

COP30’s agenda on food systems is expected to emphasize tenure as the foundation for resilience. Secure rights to land enable crop diversification, water conservation, and regenerative farming — all of which are central to the conference’s push for climate-aligned agriculture.

Cities and Resilience

Rapid urbanization across the Global South has brought tens of millions into informal settlements, where lack of tenure makes residents especially vulnerable to climate shocks. In low-lying and flood-prone cities, insecure tenure not only increases eviction risk but also prevents governments and aid agencies from channeling funds into durable housing upgrades.

At COP30, the Cities, Infrastructure, and Water pillar is expected to spotlight the practical link between tenure and adaptation. For policymakers, the challenge is clear: investments in resilient housing and infrastructure are sustainable only if people have the rights that prevent displacement.

Climate Finance and Enablers

Much of the debate in Belém will turn on finance. The “Baku to Belém Roadmap” seeks to push climate funding toward $1.3 trillion annually by 2030. But large volumes of finance for forests, carbon markets, and resilience projects will falter without clear land rights.

Carbon credits, green bonds, and other land-based financial instruments all rest on the legitimacy of tenure systems. “If ownership or use rights are unclear, you risk double counting, elite capture, and contested claims,” said a regional climate finance expert. Safeguarding tenure is increasingly seen as essential for bankability and credibility in climate finance.

Justice and Social Development

Beyond technical finance or adaptation concerns, tenure sits squarely in the justice agenda. Secure land rights are a human rights issue tied to housing, livelihoods, and dignity. This resonates deeply in Latin America, where histories of land inequality and displacement continue to shape social tensions.

The Global Ethical Stocktake, championed by Brazil and the UN Secretary-General, will include dialogues with civil society across six regions. Grassroots groups are expected to push land rights as a justice priority, ensuring that marginalized voices are heard in global climate governance.

Multilevel Diplomacy

The COP30 presidency has also proposed a new framework — Globally Determined Contributions (GDCs) — to expand climate action beyond national governments. Cities, Indigenous communities, and private actors would be encouraged to make commitments in line with the Paris Agreement.

For many of these actors, tenure security is a prerequisite. Local governments cannot pledge to conserve land or resettle communities without clear rights frameworks. Indigenous Peoples cannot engage in carbon markets or conservation initiatives unless their ancestral territories are recognized. By mainstreaming tenure into GDCs, COP30 could mark a step toward embedding land governance into multilevel climate diplomacy.

The Broader Picture

Taken together, these strands show how land tenure security has moved from the margins of technical discussions into the mainstream of climate politics. In Belém, it will not headline the negotiations, but it will underpin nearly every theme.

The Amazonian setting is symbolic: a city grappling with poverty and inequality hosting the world’s most ambitious climate talks. For advocates, it is also a reminder that climate justice is inseparable from the rights of those who live on and depend upon the land.

“Land tenure is the quiet connector,” said one civil society organizer preparing to attend COP30. “It is the piece that makes forest protection credible, that makes farming resilient, that makes finance bankable, and that makes justice real. Without it, the entire climate agenda wobbles.”

As negotiators, civil society, and businesses converge in Belém, land tenure security is likely to be raised in forest sessions, food system debates, resilience discussions, finance corridors, and justice panels alike. It may not dominate the headlines, but in the grand scheme of COP30, it could prove to be one of the decisive enablers of success.